TAT offices drafted in to market Thailand Elite Card

At present, TAT has 27 overseas offices and 14 sales agents covering 40 markets worldwide. The agency seeks to use these resources to help revive the troubled project, initiated during the administration of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The TAT hopes to have 2,500 new Elite Card members in 2014, adding to the 2,562 at present.

Suraphon Svetasreni, the TAT’s governor, said yesterday after a TPC shareholders meeting that the move would help secure the project’s future following the Cabinet’s decision last week allocating Bt100 million to move it forward.

The marketing campaign is expected to kick off in February next year, after Chinese New Year. About Bt10 million of the total budget will be spent on the campaign.

At yesterday’s meeting, Arunporn Limskul, director and executive director of Krungthai Bank, was nominated as a TPC board member.

She will be the 10th board member. The Cabinet has set the number of members at 11. She is expected to use her financial experience to improve the performance of the project.

Suraphon said the project would also require a new managing director to spearhead the campaign. The meeting discussed the establishment of a selection committee comprising three to five executives to choose a qualified candidate. Another three-member committee will be set up to consider how much the managing director will earn. The process would adhere to legislation governing state enterprises, he said. A new managing director is expected to be recruited next March. Qualifications include being a business and marketing professional with an understanding of the card business. The candidate will also be creative and a good networker in order to access potential clients worldwide, Suraphon said.